1. Piaget’s Cognitive Stages Patsy Hamby

2. Jean Piaget 1896-1980 Belief: – “Only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual.” Model of intellectual development – Cognitive Stages of Development – Affects elementary classroom instruction Epistemology – The study of knowledge or theories about how we acquire knowledge

3. Stage 1: Sensorimotor Birth to about age 2 Leans about the environment through motor and reflex action Thought derives from sensation and movement

4. Sensorimotor (cont’d) Learns he is separate from the environment – Items continue to exist outside his reach How to teach: – Gear toward the sensorimotor system Frowning, stern voice, soothing voice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHFjFr0hk2g

5. Take 3 Discuss with a classmate your experience with children at the sensorimotor stage of development.

6. Stage 2: Preoperational From time child starts to talk to about age 7 Child learns to use symbols to represent objects – Personifies objects Able to think about items and events that are not immediately present Assumes others see things from his viewpoint

7. Preoperational (cont’d) Takes in information and changes his mind Difficulty conceptualizing time Best way to teach: – Take into account the child’s fantasies – Remember undeveloped sense of time – Provide tangibles – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLj0IZFLKvg

8. Take 3 Discuss with a classmate your experience with a child at the preoperational stage of development.

9. Stage 3: Concrete About 1 st grade to early adolescence Beginning of abstract thinking Logic begins to take precedence over perception – Makes rational judgments about observable phenomena

10. Concrete (cont’d) Best way to teach: – Provide opportunities for child to ask questions – Ask child to explain back to you to allow him to mentally manipulate information – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alZXoALQJr4

11. Take 3 Discuss with a classmate your experience with a child at the concrete stage of development.

12. Formal Operations Adolescence No longer requires concrete objects to make rational judgments Capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning Best way to teach: – Provide different perspectives http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjJdcXA1KH8

13. Take 3 Discuss with a classmate which of the following types of reasoning you prefer: – Deductive: Teacher provides examples and leads students to naming the exact term. – Inductive: Teacher provides definition; students provide examples.

14. References “Jean Piaget.” Wikipedia. Retrieved Jan. 8, 2012 from wikipedia.com “Piaget’s Cognitive Stages.” Springhouse, 1990. Retrieved Jan 8, 2012 from honolulu.hawaii.edu